Domenic

I got this call last month from a guy in the city who wanted to climb. No problem. Domenic wanted to start training for a climb in the Tetons and had some ice climbing and mountaineering experience under his belt already. No problem. Domenic is also totally 100% blind. Hummm. No problem. I picked Domenic up at the Poughkeepsie Train Station around 8:33 am and headed to Rock and Snow to get some gear before blasting up to the Trapps. Domenic really wanted to get in some multi-pitch action to start getting accustomed to the systems of lead belaying, cleaning gear, transitions at belay stations and rappelling with a friction hitch backup while simu-rappelling. Actually those last four things are systems I wanted to teach him so when he gets to his destination he makes it up and down efficiently and safely. We started the day on Black Fly 5.5 and Bunny 5.4. Domenic had no problems with either climb and we both started to get used to the way we communicate with each other about movement and body position. Note: If you ever want to learn how to get better at describing exactly what you see and how to get to it, hang out with someone who has little to no sight. By the end of the day you will reevaluate the way you describe directions to people. We headed over to do Betty 5.3 and get Domenic’s multi-pitch fix in. I broke the pitches up so I could watch every move Domenic had to do during the climb. Never once did he have a problem with gear removal or breaking down 3 point anchors at belay stations. Once we made it to the top of Betty it was time to Simu-rap two times back to the ground. I told Domenic if he ever got pinned down in bad weather and had to get off the Grand quickly this would be a good skill to learn. Once again no problem with either rappels. Domenic and I both learned a lot of skills today. I am starting to realize it’s the people I meet that makes me have fun during the day. Yea I love climbing. Yea I love running around outside, but I also really enjoy the characters I run into while doing these things. I’m not sure why I didn’t take any pictures. I guess I didn’t feel like I needed to. What a day.